


Filling the Belly of the Beast

by Cantatrice18



Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Fix-It, Gen, Lions, Rescue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-12
Updated: 2018-04-12
Packaged: 2019-04-21 20:47:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14293137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cantatrice18/pseuds/Cantatrice18
Summary: Aware of the danger Olivia is in, the Baudelaires resolve to protect her in the only way they can.What the children ought to have done the night before the lion feeding, instead of fixing a useless rollercoaster car.





	Filling the Belly of the Beast

The idea of repairing the rollercoaster car for use as an escape vehicle was a pipe dream, a term used here to mean an unlikely and unhelpful case of wishful thinking. Even with the Tagliatelle Grande, the engine of the faded duck remained far too weak to outrun any decent motor vehicle, particularly Count Olaf’s car. Some other plan would have to do, preferably one that managed to rescue not only the Baudelaire children, but Olivia Caliban as well.

Violet understood at once why Esme would fixate upon “Madame Lulu” as a sacrifice for the lions. Esme’s jealousy and possessiveness had grown worse and worse with each passing day, her obsession with Olaf overwhelming her reason. Even disguised, Olivia still managed to be the more beautiful of the two women, perhaps because she wasn’t trying as hard, or perhaps because of the lovely personality that Esme sadly lacked. Either way, it meant that their unofficial guardian was in grave danger. From their caravan the children could hear the ravenous lions roaring to one another, an ominous portent of the slaughter to come. No one deserved to die in such a gruesome manner, but particularly not Olivia, the woman who had given up her steady, safe position at Prufrock Prep to join the VFD and help the Baudelaires stay alive. The least they could do was protect her from a horrifying death in the belly of the beasts. And so, under cover of darkness, the three children snuck to the tent where the villainous crew stored all their meals, carefully removing tin after tin of canned food and transporting their spoils to the edge of the lion’s pit. Sunny’s sharp teeth made quick work of the can lids, and the children took turns emptying beef chili and albacore tuna into the pit for the lions to gorge on. By the time dawn began to brighten the horizon, the lions were curled up peacefully at the bottom of the pit, their bellies distended by entirely nontraditional meals. As the children returned to their beds, Violet reassured herself that they had done everything possible to keep themselves, and Olivia, safe from the wild creatures trapped nearby. If anyone fell into the pit now, the lions ought to be too full of chicken salad and stuffed grape leaves to care. She could only hope it was enough.


End file.
